[Today's Prayer] Civil War Intensifies in Myanmar: Military Airstrike on Market in Rebel-Controlled Area Leaves 33 Dead

More than 30 civilians were killed when the Myanmar military carried out an airstrike on a market in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

According to Reuters and AFP on the 28th, around noon local time that day, an airstrike by the military targeting a market and a nearby bridge in the Kyauktaw area of Rakhine State in western Myanmar killed at least 33 people and injured 36 others.

The Arakan Army, a rebel organization that controls the area, said in a statement that the death toll could rise further.

One witness at the scene reported seeing more than 30 bodies among the smoking debris and cratered roads. The relief team of Wai Htun Aung, a local humanitarian worker, also confirmed the scale of the casualties.

Rakhine State, which borders Bangladesh, has been one of the areas of Myanmar where some of the most devastating fighting has taken place since the civil war began following the military coup in 2021. Humanitarian workers emphasized that Kyauktaw, which was attacked, is a small riverside town far from the front lines where fighting is taking place and is not an area directly involved in the conflict.

The Arakan Army and local humanitarian sources said that this airstrike was one of the deadliest incidents involving civilian casualties in Rakhine State since an airstrike targeting a hospital in the western region last December killed at least 30 people.

(Excerpt)

Myanmar fell into turmoil in February 2021 when the military overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the civil war has killed approximately 100,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes.

Source: Nate News

“Brothers and sisters, you were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

Heavenly Father, we hear the news that Myanmar’s government forces carried out an airstrike on a market and a nearby bridge in western Rakhine State, killing at least 33 people and injuring many others, with the possibility that the death toll may rise further.

As we see countless people in Myanmar killed and forced to flee their homes because of the horrific fighting and turmoil that began with the military coup five years ago, please have mercy on the people of Myanmar, whose hearts have been humbled and broken.

In the name of Jesus, may every evil deception that promotes division and war between the government forces and rebel groups, preventing the people of Myanmar from seeing the goodness and love of God, be completely broken.

In the midst of war and suffering, awaken the Church in Myanmar so that they will not forget that God has called the people of Myanmar and set them free. May the Church in Myanmar serve those whose hearts are broken and who are mourning, and may they humbly serve others in love.

May the global Church also never cease praying for the nations that God sees and cares for amid this troubled world. Rather than using this as an opportunity for the flesh, may we continually build an altar of prayer and share in carrying the burden for the revival and restoration of the people of Myanmar.

Therefore, may the people of Myanmar rise up as a nation that serves the nations with unwavering faith and a passionate love for God, preparing the way for the coming of the Lord!